Melinum
by BlueApollo
Summary: Kaito, Rin, Meiko, and Miku all find themselves in a world needing their aid. The one catch? Their voices are their weapons.
1. Leaving Reality

**Kaito**

Kaito held an empty cup in his hands and yawned. His single room apartment was a dismal gray this morning, enough to let him know that his next ten-hour shift would be dreadfully boring. He closed his eyes and imagined that he had managed to get another four hours of sleep. Maybe then the bags under his eyes would go away.

He placed his bowl on the box in the corner of his room and promised himself that he would do the dishes when he got home tonight so that he wouldn't have to eat his rice out of a cup again. A mirror leaned against the back wall beneath the window, threatening to fall over if anyone stepped too close. Kaito brushed a hand through his blue hair to make it look semi-decent, then threw on a coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck. It was a cold day in Tokyo and he had no intention of getting sick. Being sick meant being out of work. Being out of work meant no money. No money meant no life. He was definitely not in the mood to start slumming it out again, especially since he was going to be alone this time around.

Kaito stared at the floor as he walked out of his apartment. He softly hummed to himself as his feet took quick steps down the three flights of stairs to the bottom floor. The front door opened with a loud squeak as sunlight illuminated the tiny entrance hall. Kaito looked up from the floor. Strange. It had been gray outside just a few minutes before. He shrugged. Who was he to argue with nature? He took a few more steps outside before he began to notice why everything was so different.

_Where am I?_ he thought.

**Rin**

"Did you see the cast list yet?"

"I got in!"

"I can't believe it! _She_ got cast as the lead?"

Rin felt a flutter of hope as the exclamations of her classmates rushed into her ears. Maybe she had done it this time! Maybe she had finally gotten a role in the school musical. It would be her shining moment! She closed her blue eyes and softly hummed to calm herself down. She had to be humble. Nobody liked a gloater.

The crowds of students soon drifted away from the notice board, allowing Rin to finally open her eyes and see the results of her audition. She scanned the list of students and roles. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. She couldn't see her name anywhere. After all that work, weeks of practicing all alone in her room rehearsing the same song over and over again... What had she done wrong? She closed her eyes and hummed to herself to prevent the tears that she could feel building up. This wasn't supposed to happen!

Rin turned around and sprinted to her teacher's office. There had to have been some kind of mistake. That had to be the only explanation. She had done so well, so why hadn't she seen any sort of result for her endeavors?

"Sensei!" she called as she knocked on her teacher's door. "Sensei, I have something to ask you." Her teacher opened his office door and looked down at the blond little girl standing before him.

"What is it, Rin?"

"Why didn't I get into the show? You know as well as I do that my audition was perfect! What happened?" Rin bit her lip to both stop herself from rambling and prevent the tears that she could feel welling up again.

"Rin, I'm sorry," her teacher sighed. "You should know this by now." He took a seat at his desk and indicated for Rin to take a seat in one of his extra chairs, but Rin remained in the doorway.

"Listen, Rin, you know this as well as everyone else here. Having you in a production can't work. You…" The teacher paused as he tried to think of the right words to say. "You know as well as everyone else that you don't harmonize well with the other students. Nobody can keep up with your vocal range. It's incredible, but we encourage a group approach to our productions. You haven't found a way to fit the bill yet. That, and there is the issue of your…" His voice drifted off to incomprehensible mumbling.

"The issue of what?" Rin asked, but she felt that she already knew the answer. It had been bothering her for nearly her entire life. She couldn't believe that such an impediment could ever exist.

"Rin, I don't want to be rude, but there is the issue of your… appearance. You don't look like anybody else here. Our shows need to look believable, and having a girl with blond hair and blue eyes is such a distraction that people might stop paying attention to the show. You know we can't-"

"Stop. I understand." Rin took a step back and gave a small, courteous bow to her teacher. "Thank you for at least allowing me to audition." With that, she turned around and began running down the hall. She felt like she needed fresh air. The double doors of the school flew open with a shove of her hands as she rushed outside and crumbled to her knees on the grass. Sobs began to wrack her body as she curled up and let her emotions out.

_At least the grass is soft_ she thought to herself as she tried her trick of counting her blessings in a weak attempt to cheer herself up. Her eyes flew open as the significance of the thought hit her. She sat up and rubbed the salty tears from her eyes as she looked around. She had always lived in an urban environment. Grass was something that only grew in parks.

"Where am I?" she mumbled to herself.

**Meiko**

Meiko slammed her shot glass on the bar and shook her head.

"Another! And make sure you put some kick in there next time. I'm so tired of these wimpy drinks. If I'm going to drink, I'm going to drink hard, got it?" she growled. Her tousled brown hair shrouded her left eye as she glared at the terrified bartender.

"I think that's enough for tonight, ma'am," the bartender squeaked as he took the glass away from Meiko. Meiko reached out and snatched the man's wrist, dragging him closer so that he could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"I said make me another. And give it some kick! I'm sick of all these weak drinks. Do you really think I can get drunk off a few little glasses of cider?" she dropped the bartender's wrist and began to hum impatiently. He scurried to fill up another cup and slid it across the bar to her before quickly disappearing to the storerooms in the back. Meiko gulped down the glass and slammed it on the bar.

"Now _that_ was a lot better." She looked around at the rest of the people in the bar and glared at anyone that gave her weird looks. She came here to get drunk, not be gawked at.

"Hey you!" A man tapped Meiko on the shoulder. She turned around in her bar stool and fixed him with one of her meaner glares. That's what it felt like to her, but really it just looked like she was squinting. The man held back a laugh as he began to talk again.

"Are you that Meiko chick? Didn't you- "

"I don't want to hear anything about those days." Meiko stood up and balled her fists. "I'm washed up here for a reason, now go away before I make you!"

"You're really going to give an old fan some crap like that? Jeez. No wonder you washed up."

"I said leave!" Meiko pulled her arm back in preparation for a punch, but someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground before she could make any other moves.

"Let go of me!" she screamed. "Let go so I can hit him! You didn't even let me hit him!"

"You've had enough, now you need to get out of here before you tear the place apart," the man that was holding her said. Meiko instantly recognized it as the voice of the manager. She was thrown out the front door of the bar before she could manage to think of a considerable retort for him besides fuck you.

She landed on a soft patch of grass and felt like she was going to vomit. Maybe that last drink was a little too much for her. She looked up from the grass and nearly fainted.

"I must be really, really drunk."

**Miku**

The roar of all her fans was music to her ears. Miku took her final bow on the stage before prancing off like the superstar diva that she was. Her herd of assistants, stylists, and handlers all congratulated her on another great show as she made her way back to her private dressing room.

"Great show, Miku!"

"You were brilliant tonight, like a shining star!"

"I have never heard your fans scream louder, darling!"

"Did you hear that last note you hit? I'm sure no one else can do that!"

Miku waved off the compliments as she finally got through the throng and entered her dressing room. She slammed the door behind her and fell into a luxurious divan. The entire room was lined with flowers, chocolates, and plates upon plates of leeks from her adoring fans. She knew she would eventually throw most of it all out, but it was still a wonderful feeling to be so loved. She smiled and began to hum to herself. Everything was so perfect. She had the perfect fans, the perfect friends, the perfect body, and the perfect diva life. It couldn't get any better than this.

She stood up and put a robe over her schoolgirl costume. The humming stopped as she decided that now would be as good a time as ever to let in one of her many stylists to clean the makeup off her face. She didn't want to get acne from leaving on all those oily products on her. Opening the door to her dressing room, she opened her mouth to call out for her stylist. Not a sound came out.

_Where am I?_ she thought. Her dressing room door slammed shut behind her.


	2. Melinum: A Land in Danger

Four people stood together in the middle of a grass clearing. The trees towered above them on all sides as if they were prison bars. Gray clouds circled in the sky, threatening to unleash a torrent of rain.

"Drunk again, Meiko?" Kaito asked as he glared down at the woman in red. "I see you've managed to obtain an even sluttier wardrobe than before." Even though his face was twisted in disgust, he offered a hand to help her to her feet.

"I swear I wasn't wearing this back at the bar. And since when do you wear clothes like that? Did your nerd friends design that coat for you?" Meiko slapped Kaito's proffered hand and shakily stood up on her feet. Kaito glanced down at his clothes before he turned away from Meiko. He had to admit that she was right. His coat looked ridiculous.

"Are you two going to keep chattering or are you going to figure out where we are? I'd rather not get my hair wet, thank you very much!" Meiko and Kaito faced the green-haired girl at the same time.

"You!" Meiko growled. "You, of all people! What are you doing here?"

"I haven't the slightest, so go on. Go figure it out, and maybe find a shelter while you're at it. I'm not too keen on staying out here when it's apparently going to rain soon." Miku began to stroke one of her pigtails but stopped when she looked down. "What happened to my costume? That was a _very_ expensive costume! One of a kind!"

"Are you seriously going to freak out over yourself like that? I should be pummeling you by now." Meiko balled her hand into a fist but Kaito gripped her wrist and held her back before she could make any rash moves.

"Um, excuse me? Do any of you know what's going on and why," the young, blond girl blushed, "I'm in this outfit?"

"Weren't you listening to us? We don't-" Meiko halted her speech when she turned to face the young girl. She shook her head and took a step back. "Hey, do any of you know this brat?" Kaito and Miku looked at each other and shrugged. "Apparently not," Meiko sighed. "Well, it looks like you're the odd one out. I'm Meiko. The blue guy is Kaito and that green freak is Miku."

"Hey!" Miku cried. "Watch who you're calling a freak!"

"I find it hard to believe those pigtails are real," Meiko retorted. She turned back to the young girl. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Her name is Rin." A lady with long pink hair walked into the clearing with a tall man in a suit and glasses tailing behind her. He stared at a clipboard that he clutched in slightly trembling hands.

"And who might you be?" Meiko snarled as they all turned to the newcomers.

"I am Luka, and my companion is Kiyoteru." The woman stopped and looked over each person in turn.

"Do you mind telling us where we are?" Miku asked. "I'd like to be able to find the quickest route home as soon as possible."

"Ah, yes. Welcome to Melinum. We sincerely apologize for bringing you here so abruptly, but, you see, it was the only way."

"Only way for what?" Kaito asked.

"The only way to avoid detection. I'm sorry; I guess you deserve an explanation. Kiyoteru, do you mind?" Luka gestured for the tall man to come forward. He took a few steps before he looked up from his clipboard.

"Not at all, Luka. " He glanced down at his clipboard one more time. "Kaito, Meiko, Miku, and Rin, I assume." He didn't wait for a response. "You have all been summoned to Melinum because you all possess two unique traits: the incredible ability to sing and a missing element in your lives, the former being much more important than the latter. For us here in Melinum, I mean. You see, our world is in danger. A new ruler stole the throne from the rightful queen a few years ago. Since then, our world has been thrust into turmoil. The ruler used to maintain the chronology of the land. Without the rightful queen, time is, essentially, destroyed. All of our buildings, inventions, roads, and landscape are subject to change unpredictably. One moment you may be driving a car, the next you'll be riding atop an old steed. Do you understand the magnitude of our situation?"

"Yeah, sure," Meiko said. "Timey changey stuff. All that crazy, weird fantasy and sci-fi stuff that I'm sure our resident nerd here will get a kick out of."

"Hey!" Kaito exclaimed.

"What? You can't honestly tell me that you're not intrigued by all this. Now," Meiko ignored Kaito's glare and looked back at Kiyoteru, "where do we come in with all this? You've got all this crazy shit going on. What do you want us to do about it?"

"We need your help, of course. You have the one power that nobody else in all of Melinum possesses."

"Which is?"

"The ability to sing."

Meiko busted out laughing and fell over onto the ground. The other three gave each other confused glances, but none of them questioned the statement.

"You have to be kidding me!" Meiko cackled. "Singing? What are we going to do? _Entertain_ this evil ruler to death! I'm sure Kaito could do it! His voice is terrible enough to kill someone within the first note!"

"That's not what you said a few years ago," Kaite mumbled.

"I don't think you understand," Luka said. "Singing is a power in Melinum. Its strength rivals that of the greatest weapons our world has ever seen. The combination of music and words holds more potency than you could possibly imagine. It is our final weapon available to us."

"Why should we help you? You dragged us out of our lives, but what do we get in return?" Miku charged. "I have a career, you know!"

"As a professional singer, yes. That's part of why we singled you out," Kiyoteru said. "There are two benefits for you if you defeat the unjust ruler. The first is what I have already mentioned before-"

"The missing elements," Rin whispered. Her blue eyes seemed distant as she seemed to stare right through Kiyoteru

"Correct. You will find the missing element in your lives. The second will probably convince you the most. If you do not do this for us, you will perish with the rest of the world. We are falling apart with each day that passes. Parts of our timeline are disappearing completely, and without those we will never be able to rebuild this world for our knowledge lies with time. Soon everything will be lost unless you do something about it."

Everyone became quiet. Kaito gripped the edges of his long sleeves and stared at the ground. Meiko glared at the other three in turn before looking back at Kiyoteru and Luka. Miku crossed her arms over her chest and huffed like she had been dealt some great insult. Rin simply sat cross-legged on the ground, her eyes closed as if she was in deep thought.

"What are we waiting for, morons? Let's go save this world. I've got nothing better to do, anyway," Meiko finally said.

"So you'll help us?" Luka asked.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. I'm sure the other three will come around to it. Now let's go."


	3. The Summit

"Is there any reason why we're in these…" Meiko paused as she glanced down at her body and winced. "…These outfits? I mean, I _definitely_ was not wearing this a few hours ago, although I can't say the same for Kaito or Miku."

"I would never wear a _white_ coat!"

"Gray costumes? Please! Can't I at least be a little more _colorful_?"

Meiko smirked as Kaito and Miku elicited the reactions she had expected. At least she could entertain herself here, but she could already feel the hankering for alcohol whispering at the back of her mind. Sake really sounded good right about now. She muttered a swear under her breath and leaned forward on her horse. They had been riding for two hours already and had yet to vacate the enormous trees, but Luka had promised that they were headed somewhere important. Meiko wished time would hurry up. She was starting to get saddle sore.

"You needed something to fit what you will face in this world," Luka explained. "Those clothes are specially designed to handle the rigors of battle and-"

"Rigors of battle?" It was Miku who was laughing now. She leaned into Kaito and muffled her laughs in the back of his coat. The pair had decided to ride together since one of the horses that Luka and Kiyoteru had brought had managed to disappear.

"It's just singing. It shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Rin asked. The pony she was given trotted half the time in order to keep up with the much larger horses that her companions rode. She had managed to adjust to the bumpy ride, but even she was tiring of the trip.

"Singing is a weapon. We've already explained that," Luka said. "The more passionate and pronounced the performance, though, the more powerful your singing can be. That gives you better chances at defeating your enemies. Your outfits, or costumes if you would like to call them, will help you. You should find cloaks in your saddlebags, though. If we enter any villages you should put those on. People will know what you are if you walk around openly in those clothes."

"Wait, so nobody here dresses like this?" Kaito asked.

"Nobody has your abilities. Not anymore. What would be the point?" Kiyoteru explained. "Everyone that could have done what you can do have all been captured. That's why we had to bring-"

"Kiyoteru! I thought I told you not to tell them that!" Luka snapped.

"Well, I think it's important for them to know!"

"Do you want to scare them?"

"No, I want them to understand what they're up against." Kiyoteru sighed as he looked down at his horse. "There's more to why we called on you to come here," he began. He looked over at Luka to see if she would stop him, but her expression had turned to stony indifference. That was all the permission he needed. "We have others like you in Melinum, other people that can sing and have fantastic control over their powers. They were all captured, though. We could have used them instead of you, but the new queen was able to find them before we could. Part of what you have to do here is find them. We don't know where they are, but with your help we might be able to discover where they are hidden and set them free."

"Oh great, so now we're on a rescue mission? I thought you said nobody else in Melinum possesses our skill!" snarled Meiko. "What else do you need us to do? Change the position of the moon and bake you a pie while we're at it?"

Luka sighed. "Listen, we know that this is going to be difficult for you. You never asked to be taken out of your lives in order to save us, but I promise you that the reward will be great, and the gratitude of our people shall never be forgotten. All you have to do is help, then we can send you back home."

"Why can't we go back right now?" Miku whined. "If you can do it, why can't you do it now?"

"I can't!" Luka snapped. Her eyes instantly dropped to her hands as she gripped the reins of her horse even harder. She seemed frozen, suspended in a moment of utter frustration, before she finally relaxed her grip and heaved another sigh. "I can't," she repeated. "I've used all that I have left to bring you here. There's only so much that I can do as a….nevermind. It's not important right now."

Meiko was about to begin another interrogation with their hosts when the group started to notice distortions in the world around them. Flashes of roads and cobblestones, cars and carriages began to materialize, disappear, then steadily grow into a new, more solid image. Kaito looked down to see that his horse was starting to grow wheels while its legs disappeared. His reins turned to handlebars. Glancing over to the others, he could see that they were all speeding down a road on roaring motorcycles.

"Now this is more like it!" Meiko shouted! The others cringed as they heard her loud voice over the headsets installed in the helmets that had come with the time change. Luka veered her motorcycle into the lead as Kiyoteru backed off in order to carry the rear.

"What just happened?" Rin asked. She was sitting in a sidecar attached to Meiko's motorcycle. Kaito looked over at the woman, expecting some kind of complaint about having to watch the kid, but he heard nothing from her. He shook his head and kept following Luka as Miku kept her arms wrapped around his chest, holding on for dear life.

"It was a Time Change." Luka's voice rang clearly over the headsets. "We call them Ticks."

"Like a clock," Rin mused.

"Exactly. This one transported us to a time a lot like where you come from, so you should all be familiar with the technology. This kind of even usually happens about once every few days, but it's been getting more frequent. That's part of why we're worried. You'll see the other reason soon enough."

Silence ensued as the group continued on. The road soon began to slope upwards, curving its way up the side of a hill. The trees slowly became less numerous and the group was able to make out some of the other sights of Melinum. In their opinion there wasn't much to see. It looked just like any other civilization from Earth. They caught a few glimpses of areas that seemed fogged and gray, but they took little consideration of it.

At the summit of the hill the road became a cul-de-sac. The group circled around once before they turned off their engines, took their helmets off and began to examine the world around them. All they could see was a wide expanse of forest on one side, but Luka gestured for the four to follow her. They were led to the other side of the hill, a sheer cliff where the civilization of Melinum could be viewed like a secret tourist point.

"What in the world?" Rin gasped.

"You've got to be kidding me," Meiko groaned.

"That's not right…" Kaito mumbled.

"Oh my gosh!" Miku shrieked. She had been holding on to Kaito's hand ever since he had helped her off the motorcycle, but she dropped it once she realized what she had been doing. What a silly thing for her to do! She never held hands with weird guys like Kaito, but part of her was disappointed that he hadn't even noticed that she let go.

"I thought you said that part of your _timeline_ was missing!" Meiko exclaimed. "This looks like a lot more than chunks of your time disappearing!"

"The Ticks that have been lost on our Timeline mean that we lose the events that happened on that day," Kiyoteru explained. "One of the targets is apparently the discovery and foundation of multiple locations in Melinum. Without those discoveries…well…the locations cease to exist."

"What happens if there were people in that location, too?" Rin whispered. When she had seen the gray, empty areas that blotted Melinum's landscape, she had bitten her lip to prevent tears. After just a few moments, she couldn't look at the view anymore. Her eyes stared at the ground as she wringed her hands nervously.

"They disappear, too." Meiko could hear the tone of terrible sadness in Luka's voice, but she couldn't tell if the others had noticed. "We've lost so many citizens to disappearances. Many of Melinum's best vocalists have disappeared, too."

"Is there any way to determine which place will disappear next?"

"No."

"So poof! Just like that! You're gone! That sounds like a fantastic way to go, doesn't it?" Meiko said.

"You'll probably just go back to your own world if you get caught in a disappearance," Luka sighed dejectedly. Miku immediately looked over at the pink-haired woman. Suddenly she was very interested in the conversation. "Listen, we need to move on. We have to make a plan to attack the new queen before its too late. Now that you've seen the magnitude of our situation, we're just wasting time. Let's go."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" a voice squeaked. The group turned around to see a brown-haired girl standing on top of one of the motorcycles.

"Hey! She looks like Meiko did when she was still pretty!" Kaito laughed. Meiko punched his shoulder, eliciting a sharp cry from the young man.

"That's nice. I think I might spare you since you're kinda cute, too," the girl said. She faked a thoughtful expression as she leaned her weight to one side. Then a cruel smile worked its way over her face. "Nah! I'll just have to rock your world, too!"

"Oh no!" Luka gasped.

"Get out of the way!" Kiyoteru shouted. He picked up Rin and grabbed Meiko's hand as he rushed away from the cliff edge.

"Can't I have any fun?" the girl pouted. "Oh well. Time to sing!

_Suimen ga yuragu_

_Kaze no wa ga hirogaru_

_Fure atta yubisaki no_

_Aoi denryuu"_

Suddenly a great gust of wind bowled over the group. Kiyoteru, Rin, and Meiko were out of the way from the main burst and managed to only stumble a few feet, but Luka, Kaito, and Miku were not as lucky. Luka fell to the edge of the cliff, avoiding a devastating fall by only a few inches. Kaito was knocked back over the edge. He reached out and clawed at the air until his right hand clamped down on the cliff's ledge. Miku, who had been standing right in the center of the gust of wind, flew over Kaito's head in a whirl of green pigtails. Kaito reached out again and grabbed hold of one of Miku's flailing arms. She dangled from his grip as he tried desperately to maintain his grasp on the cliff. A wave of water washed over the top of the hill, flooding the ground in a mess of puddles and drenching the group as the song continued on. Kaito sputtered as the water flowed off the cliff and left him digging his nails into the dirt.

"This is ridiculous!" Meiko shouted. "Where's the backup music coming from?"

"Just start singing!" Kiyoteru shoved Rin and Meiko forward as the song continued on, building on the girl's voice with percussion, guitar, and just about ever instrument that could make the song sound spectacular. Rin and Meiko looked at each other with confused expressions. Sing what?

"_Mitsumeau dake de  
>Kodoku na kasokudo ga<br>Isshun ni kudakechiru  
>Anata ga suki yo"<em>

The young girl's song continued. Rin and Meiko watched in horror as the motorcycles crumpled to pieces right before their eyes. The girl rode the collapsing carnage like she was simply sliding down a slope. Every move of hers was of perfect grace. The air around her even seemed to glow with the resonance of her high-pitched voice.

"Not the motorcycles!" Meiko screamed. "C'mon, brat! I know you've got a song in there somewhere!" Meiko snatched Rin's hand and began to rush forward, but the blond girl shook her head frantically as the memories of all of her old singing experiences came rushing back. Even if this woman was supposed to be some amazing singer, Rin doubted they would ever harmonize well enough to match this demonic angel before them.

"Hey, do you know the song 'Change Me'?" Meiko called over her shoulder.

"No!"

"Good! You might as well learn it now!" With that, Meiko let her own voice loose.

"_Tsuyoi chikara senaka osarete_

_Gururu mawara keshiki ga"_

Rin watched in awed silence as Meiko's lyrics began to take form. A red glow appeared around the woman, and her music began to quickly overpower her younger counterpart's song, drowning out the notes with her own arrangement.

While all the action was taking place between the three girls, Kiyoteru swiftly moved back to the edge of the cliff where Kaito was barely hanging. He could see that the young man's hand was slipping and it wouldn't be long before he and Miku both plummeted to the rocky ground below. He slid to a halt and leaned over the edge, reaching a hand out to the drenched pair.

"Kaito, take my hand! I'll bring you back up," he said. Kaito looked back up at him. His eyes were partly shrouded by his wet blue hair, but he nodded that he understood and let go of the edge of the cliff. Kiyoteru caught his hand and began to pull back with all his strength. Slowly but surely Kaito was lifted back onto solid ground with Miku in tow. Kiyoteru collapsed on the ground once he was sure the two were safely on the summit.

"Thanks," Kaito uttered between gasping breaths.

"No problem."

"You could have grabbed me _before_ I flew over the edge of the cliff!" Miku sneered.

"At least I didn't grab one of your pigtails by mistake," Kaito retorted. "I can't believe those monsters are real."

"Hey! We don't have time for fighting! Meiko and Rin need your help," Kiyoteru yelled. Miku and Kaito both looked over at the other pair. Kiyoteru was right. Meiko and Rin had managed to stave off any more attacks from their newfound enemy, but even Miku could see that they weren't going to be able to hang on much longer. The sounds of the young girl's song was starting to break through Meiko and Rin's song.

"I don't even know what they're singing. How am I supposed to help?" Miku complained.

"That doesn't matter! Just sing!" Kaito called over his shoulder as he rushed off to aid the others.

"I can't believe this," Miku groaned.

"_Michi no basho ni tada hitori_

_Shikatanai ne_

_Sukoshi zutsu kanjite yukeba_

_Kitto mieru"_

Miku watched as lights began to surround the three singers. Kaito's deep voice created a pure blue light, while Meiko and Rin's voices became red and yellow glows. The three lights began to twist and turn around each other like bewitched ropes. Soon they were swirling around the younger version of Meiko, spinning faster and faster until all they could see was a blur of white light. The motorcycles rebuilt themselves and all the water that had soaked the ground dried up. A new wind took form, gracing the figures of Meiko, Rin, and Kaito as they held their song steady. One ear-piercing scream escaped their enemy before all the music stopped, the magic disappeared, and Meiko, Rin, and Kaito fell to the ground.

Miku started to dash over to them, but Kiyoteru held her back.

"Don," he said. "They're fine. I promise." Miku tore away from his grip anyway and finished her journey to them.

Rin rolled over onto her back and began laughing. "I've never had so much fun in my entire life!" she shouted.

"That was better than any other performance I've ever done!" Meiko exclaimed as she sat up. Kaito sat up beside her with a goofy grin on his face.

"Best. Performance. Ever" was all he could say.

"What just happened?" Miku demanded.

"We just defeated that little brat that tried to destroy our motorcycles," Meiko explained. "No thanks to you, of course."

"Hey!"

"Meiko, she was probably still a little shocked after having nearly fallen off a cliff," Kaito said. He glanced over at Miku with a look that said _you better be thanking me later_, though.

"Whatever." Meiko brushed off Kaito's comment. "A word of advice, though, my blue-haired nerd. Next time, don't try to save the diva." With that, Meiko stood up and walked away.

"What's her problem?" Rin asked. Neither of the other two answered. Rin gave a shrug before she walked off, too.

"Listen, Miku, you shouldn't take Meiko so seriously," Kaito said quickly. He could already see the tears welling up in Miku's green eyes. "She very temperamental and she hasn't had a drink in over three hours. I'm sure a lot of it is stemming from that. She'll get over it soon enough. You'll just have to try again next time." Miku nodded silently at Kaito's words and blinked back her tears.

"Thanks," she muttered. Kaito stood up and extended a hand to her.

"Let's go and figure out what our next move is," he said. Miku grabbed his hand and was lifted to her feet in one swift movement. They both walked over to where Kiyoteru, Rin, and Meiko were gathered.

Luka lay on the ground as Kiyoteru knelt beside her and gently tried to shake her awake. Her hair spilled around her in a mess of light pink strands. She rolled over onto her back and opened her light blue eyes.

"Sorry about that," she said with a kind smile. "I must have passed out. Kiyoteru, do you mind helping me up." Kiyoteru stood up and grasped Luka's hand, pulling her to her feet so that she could face the others.

"You all did very well for your first encounter with a Singer," Luka praised. Her eyes didn't meet Miku's.

"What was that…that thing?" Meiko asked. "And how did she look so much like me?"

"Technically 'she' wasn't real," Kiyoteru began to explain. "She was a created by the unjust queen to scare you off. That queen has many like the one you just faced, and I wouldn't be surprised if you came across a few more around here. That was very odd, though. Apparently this one had a twisted sense of humor considering the form it decided to take." Kiyoteru began to nervously adjust his glasses.

"So it was like a spirit or something?"

"I guess that's what you can call it," Kiyoteru said.

"Then why did Luka call it a Singer?" Everyone looked over at Luka, but her eyes were downcast to the ground.

"I'm sorry. I was thrown off for a bit." She looked back up at the group and gave a confident smile. "Don't worry about it. We have a lot of work to do and a lot less time than I would like to get it done. Get on your motorcycles. We need to keep moving!"

**A/N Here are the translations for the songs used in this chapter:**

**Interstellar Flight (The Spirit's song, aka Meiko Sakine, 16y/o)**

_The water's surface quivers _

_A ring of wind spreads _

_Your fingertips feel the _

_The blue current_

_With only a glace _

_That lonely acceleration is _

_One moment that breaks into pieces _

_I love you_

**Change Me (Meiko, Rin, and Kaito; original song by Meiko only)**

_Strong powers push my back_

_The scenes whirling around_

…

_All alone in an unknown place_

_It can't be helped_

_If I slowly feel it_

_I'm sure I'll see it_

**Feel free to look up these songs on youtube or nicovideo,jp, they should be on those websites. All the songs in this story are specifically chosen for the meanings of their English-translated lyrics, but the lyrics are and will be written in Japanese in the story in order to make it seem like they are actually singing the song. **

**The "spirit" that Meiko, Rin, and Kaito fought was, indeed, Meiko Sakine. As a "Fanloid", she is supposed to be Meiko when she was sixteen years old. In this story, her image and voice are only being used as scare tactics. There is a lot more information about her in the Vocaloid wiki if you would like to learn more about her.**

**Thank you for reading! I'll have the next chapter up soon!**


	4. The Queen

"_Mukashi mukashi aru tokoro ni  
>akugyaku-hidou no oukoku no<br>chouten ni kunrin suru wa  
>yowai juuyon no oujo-sama"<em>

Rin smiled to herself as she softly sang the lyrics to the song, her eyes closed in contentment. The group was gathered around a campfire in the middle of the forest. Their motorcycles had been left behind after they had broken only a few minutes after their first battle. It had ended up being a long day of toting their packs over their shoulders as they walked through the forest.

"_Kenran-gouka na choudohin  
>kao no yoku nita meshitsukai<br>aiba no namae wa Josephine  
>subete ga subete kanojo no mono."<em>

Rin opened her eyes to see the others staring at her in awe. She had found a place for herself a little further away from the rest of them so that they wouldn't hear her voice over their heated conversations, so she instantly grew worried that she had bothered them.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked quickly. "I can stop if you want."

"No," Meiko said. "No, keep singing. You won't believe what you just did. Just keep your eyes open this time."

"Okay…" Rin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she continued her song.

"_Okane ga tarinaku natta nara  
>gumin domo kara shiboritore.<br>Watashi ni sakarau monotachi wa  
>shukusei shite shimae"<em>

As Rin sang, she began to see why the others were so shocked. A scene began to appear in front of her on the grass, like tiny holographic dolls dancing to her song. The characters floated along with her words, acting out the scene she was singing with grace and dignity. She watched as a young girl that looked just like her waltzed in a beautiful yellow dress with a boy that she could have sworn was her twin. The scene suddenly shifted to a throne room where the girl, with her trusty male counterpart by her side, acted like they were berating a peasant girl that looked just like Meiko.

Rin finished the verse before she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, Meiko! I didn't think that you would appear, let alone myself." She looked up at the others, but they were silent. "Do…do any of you know who that boy was, though?"

"Not a clue," Meiko said. She waved the thought away like an unwanted fly. "That doesn't matter. Keep singing."

"_Aku no hana karen ni saku  
>azayaka na irodori de.<br>Mawari no aware na zassou wa  
>…"<em>

The scene continued on with the tiny Princess Rin waltzing with the mysterious boy once more as scenes of tragic treachery appeared like short montages around them. Kaito appeared in the next verse, a happy prince with a wonderful green-haired peasant girl at his side. Miku and Kaito both blushed at this scene and turned their faces away. They never saw the scene of the boy stabbing the peasant Miku and burning villages down. Rin's voice faded away before the song could finish.

"I used that song for my audition at my old school," Rin recollected while the scenes faded away into the firelight. "I never truly realized how bloody and terrible the story behind it was."

"I see you've figured out the benign side of singing." Luka had been watching Rin's little show from the other side of the fire with quiet, somber eyes. "It wasn't always a weapon."

"What happened?" Rin wondered out loud.

"A lot of things." Luka pushed a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. "You see, singing used to a form of entertainment for us just like it is where you come from. It-"

"This is getting really frustrating," Meiko interrupted. "How do you know so much about our world?"

"Just let her speak, Meiko!" Kaito snapped. "That's not important right now." Meiko glared at Kaito, but he wouldn't even look back at her. Finally she turned her eyes back to Luka, but she sulked against the tree she had been leaning on.

"As I was saying," Luka continued, "singing wasn't always a weapon. It was our entertainment here. It worked for everything from huge concerts to lulling a small child to sleep. In essence, it was the perfect magic for those that were lucky enough to use it, but with everything that has a light side there had to be darkness."

"That's the most cliché thing I've ever heard," Meiko interrupted again.

"Would you just shut up!" Kaito barked.

The group stared at the two in an awkward silence. Nobody dared to speak until Meiko finally stood up.

"Don't go," Rin pleaded softly. "It's probably a really good story."

"No, it's not!" Meiko snapped. "It's just like any stupid legend. Singing started out as this wonderfully nice power, someone decided to use it in a negative manner. Death and destruction ensue until we have a horrifically terrible event like the overthrowing of a queen." Meiko gestured at Luka and Kiyoteru, who had just returned from gathering more firewood. "Just how stupid do you think I am?" She grabbed Luka's vest top, clenching the fabric in a tight grip and drawing the woman towards her. Luka seemed unfazed by the sudden invasion of personal space as she stared straight back up at Meiko.

"And _you_," Meiko continued. "You think we're all so stupid, don't you? I saw right through you from the very start. You're the queen! You brought us here so that we could do your dirty work and get your crown back for you. I can't believe you would drag us out-"

Suddenly Meiko collapsed to the ground, dropping her grip and setting Luka free. Kiyoteru stood above her with a heavy piece of firewood in his hand.

"Don't you _dare_ touch Luka!" he growled. Kaito, Rin, and Miku stared at him in stunned silence. Luka simply stood up and walked over to the three to stand by them. Meiko groaned before finally pushing herself up to a sitting position and rubbing the back of her head.

"Oww…Did you really need to hit me that hard?" Meiko moaned.

"I-I'm sorry." Kiyoteru dropped the piece of wood and took a step back. He glanced over at Luka, but the woman had nothing to offer him except an unreadable expression. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why? 'Cause I'm a precious item? Jeez," Meiko began to shakily stand up, "I must be _really_ special." Kaito rushed over to offer Meiko a helping hand to her feet, but she only shoved him aside. She glowered at him as he backed off. "Just continue with your story or whatever. I've said my bit. Damn, I need some air or something." She turned away from the fire and headed off into the woods alone.

"Don't get killed!" Kaito called after her as she walked away. He crossed his arms over his chest and sulked against a tree just like Meiko had done earlier. Everybody looked expectantly at him, but he refused to move.

"She's right, you know," Luka finally said. Her eyes refused to make contact with anyone. "I am the Queen of Melinum. We used to use singing for light and good, but once people started using it for evil I began to lose control over everything. It was so easy for them to overthrow me, especially after they took so many of the good people away, the good singers who could have helped me. Kiyoteru was the only one left with me when we escaped. He had to sacrifice his power in order to save me, and I had to sacrifice mine to bring you here."

"Sacrifice?" Rin asked.

"We burned ours out," Kiyoteru explained. "When you use singing to do something huge, like summoning people from another universe, you sacrifice it in order to get the job done. The only way that anyone can get that power back is by having the queen redeem it for you."

"It's impossible for me to do that now, though," Luka went on. "Many of my powers left me when I was overthrown. The only way I can get those back and return everything to normal is if someone defeats the person that overthrew me."

"Which is where we come in," Kaito said. The remaining three looked at each other as if the thought had really sunk in.

"Are you sure that you picked the right people?" Rin asked. "I mean, I can sing, but I could never get a role in any musicals at my school or-"

"Because you were too good," Kiyoteru interjected. "We know all about that. The whole 'group approach' thing is such a ridiculous idea, really. I couldn't believe that when I saw it."

"What about me?" Kaito muttered. "I never amounted to anything."

"You amounted to something today, didn't you?" Kaito looked at Kiyoteru as if he couldn't believe those words. They sounded so foreign to him that he almost had to ask the man to repeat it.

"You're both heroes, we get it!" Miku lashed out, finally breaking her silence. "Apparently I'm worthless here. Just ask Meiko. What was it she said? Don't try to save the diva?"

"She didn't mean that! I already explained that to you," Kaito said. "She's just foul-tempered. You have to stop thinking about that." He reached out to her to grab her hand reassuringly but Miku stepped away from him.

"No! It's abundantly clear that I'm useless! I'm the most talented out of all of you and yet I haven't done anything! Nobody has said anything to me ever since we left the summit! What am I supposed to make of that?" Miku cried. She spun away from the others, her pigtails a whirl of green hair around her. Glancing over her shoulder, she grumbled, "I can make it here without you! Just you watch!" With that, she stormed off into the forest in the opposite direction Meiko had gone, her pigtails flying like banners behind her.

Rin and Kaito looked at each other as if they couldn't believe what had just happened. After a moment, their wide eyes turned to Luka and Kiyoteru.

"What are you looking at us for?" Luka snapped. "Go find them!" Rin and Kaito nodded quickly before they each set off, Kaito after Miku and Rin after Meiko.

"How are we ever going to get this group to work together?" Kiyoteru groaned once the pair had left. He sunk into a seat on the ground and stared at the fire. "Are you _absolutely_ sure that we picked the right people, Luka?"

"Of course I am. Nothing is ever perfect, though."

**A/N If you've kept reading this far, then I want to say thank you! I really appreciate that you have taken the time to read my work! Here's the translation for the song Rin was singing:**

**Daughter of Evil/Aku no Musume (Rin Kagimine, original song written by mothy/Akuno-P)**

Once upon a time,  
>there was a 14-year-old queen<br>who reigned at the top  
>of a savage and ruthless kingdom.<p>

With gorgeous and luxurious furniture,  
>a servant whose face strongly resembled hers,<br>and an adored horse whose name was Josephine,  
>the girl held ownership over everything.<p>

If she should ever need more money,  
>she'd just wring more from her foolish populace.<br>If there should be anybody revolting against her,  
>she'd just order them purged out of her sight.<p>

A flower of evil blooms sweetly  
>in the most brilliant colors.<br>Those pitiful weeds around her,

…

**You can find the rest of the translated lyrics online, plus there are many videos that have the song with subtitled English lyrics (some of the videos are really amazing). Daughter of Evil was my song of choice for this mainly because it includes the main four characters in the story (Rin, Miku, Meiko, and Kaito. If you watch the videos, you can see how they are all involved in the storyline the song portrays. There are plenty of other songs that are associated with this one song, too. If you're really interested, check out the Evillious Chronicles (where this song comes from) and prepare to have your mind blown.**

**I've also decided to add an Information Nugget at the end of each chapter just to throw in some cool info about the story and how I've been coming up with it. So here's the first little nugget: Melinum, the name of the land that Kaito, Miku, Rin, and Meiko are in is actually Latin for "From Song" (technically it means "From Melos", but Melos means song).**


	5. The Predecessor

**A/N: I'm going to start putting the names of the songs used in each chapter at the beginning to make things easier for those of you who are interested in actually hearing the songs while reading the story. And oh gawsh I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated this.**

**Songs for this Chapter:**

"**Cremation Melody" – Miku Hatsune**

Kaito had taken off at a smooth jog when he had left the others at the campfire. He had not wanted to seem overzealous or too worried about Miku, but once he knew that he was out of sight and hearing range he took off as fast as he could. His eyes scanned the shadows frantically as his feet dodged trees and roots. He knew Miku couldn't have gotten too far.

He slowed once he saw the large green pigtails glowing in the sparse moonlight that had managed to leak through the foliage. She was huddled beside a tree, her knees pulled close to her chest as her arms embraced her legs. Even from a distance she was visibly shivering in the chilly night air. She turned her head to Kaito once she heard his footsteps crunching the pine needles on the forest floor.

"Just go away! I don't need you!" Miku grumbled halfheartedly.

"Look at yourself, Miku. Of course you don't believe that," Kaito said as he approached her. He removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders before he took a seat next to her. "We've been here for less than a day. That's a short time to do anything impressive."

"It's…It's just not fair! I'm supposed to be the best! Everyone is supposed to love me." Miku gripped the edges of Kaito's coat and pulled it closer around here. "It's not like that here, and I hate it. I want to go home where people appreciate me."

"Miku, you know we can't go back," Kaito sighed. "Not until we save Melinum. It's a tall order and we can't do it without you."

Miku was silent. She refused to make eye contact with Kaito even though he stared expectantly at her with his brilliant blue eyes. Instead she kept her eyes closed as her shivering slowed to a few short shudders. Finally Kaito decided to talk again.

"You want to do something, right, Miku?"

Miku paused then nodded her head silently.

"Well, you haven't sung a single note all day." Kaito reached around him until he found a pair of sticks. "You're cold and you're tired." He placed the two sticks a few feet in front of Miku. "It's dark out and we don't want to go back to the others yet. What better way to test your powers than to light a fire?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Miku scoffed. She lifted her head and looked defiantly at Kaito.

"It won't be stupid if it works. Besides, what's the harm in trying it?" Kaito gave one of the sticks a nudge with his foot.

"Fine," Miku grumbled. She closed her eyes as she searched for a song to sing. A few agonizing moments passed before she groaned and slunk back against the tree.

"I can't do it!" she exclaimed. "I can't think of a single song that could light a fire! It's hopeless! I'm hopeless! How do you expect me to do anything when I can't even think of a song?"

"Stop thinking," Kaito said softly. "Just let the words come to you. I'm sure there's a song in that head of yours that can do this, but you have to allow it to come. You can't go searching for it. How do you think I was able to join in with Meiko's song? I can't recall the song right off the top of my head, yet I still knew it. I guess that's the magic of this place. Just give it one more shot, okay?"

"Alright," Miku grumbled. She closed her eyes again, but this time she relaxed and allowed her thoughts to flow on their own until the words started to form on her lips.

_Kowarete yuku yorokobi mo  
>Yagate kieru kanashimi mo<br>Omoiegaku subete wo daite  
>Ima honoo wo yami ni ukaberu <em>

Kaito listened to her soft lyrics. The melancholy song flowed forth from Miku's lips like floating embers, wistfully taking a gentle flight into the air until Kaito could almost see the notes settle on the firewood. A small flame began to take form with a soft crackling as Miku opened her eyes, her voice fading into the new light that glowed before them.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kaito asked. Miku shook her head. The warmth from the fire spread to them, and they both watched the gentle flickering in silence. Miku let go of Kaito's coat, letting it rest on her shoulders as she pulled one of her pigtails in front of her and began to quietly remove the pine needles that had tangled themselves in the green strands.

Miku finally broke the silence. "Why does Meiko hate us so much?"

Kaito nearly jumped when he heard her. He regained himself quickly enough to turn away and hide his nervous expression. He ran a hand through his blue hair as he glanced over his shoulder. A confused Miku looked back at him.

"That's a bit sudden, don't you think?" Kaito said as he slowly turned back to face Miku. She only gave him a stubborn look in return.

"I guess it's your right to know about why she hates you," Kaito sighed, "but I don't want to talk about myself." He looked up at the stars, ignoring Miku for a second as if some long lost thought had struck him, then his eyes returned to the fire before them.

"Do you remember the people who were famous before you?" he asked. "All those people who had the spotlight before you, can you recall any of them?"

"Well," Miku mused, "I think there was this girl called Lily and she was with some guy named Leon. No, that wasn't it. They were this annoying couple at my old school….Umm…"

"Do you remember Meiko at all?"

"Meiko? Not really. I mean, I thought I recognized her when I first saw her here, but nothing was ringing a bell…"

"You see, Meiko was a star before you were, like your predecessor," Kaito explained. Miku's eyes grew wide at the thought. "To put it simply, she believes that you stole her spotlight."

"What? But I-"

"She was at the height of her career when you came in. With your young looks and high-pitched voice, you outshined her everywhere, and she couldn't handle it. Her career died, leaving you an open pathway to fame."

"I-I didn't _mean_ to," Miku defended. "I wasn't trying to take her spotlight or outshine her or anything! I didn't realize what I was doing."

"Try telling her that. She's turned into an alcoholic maniac because of you. It's all your-" Kaito stopped. He looked over at Miku and realized that he just couldn't do this, he could tell her that she was the one who had single-handedly destroyed Meiko's career.

"Listen, just forget everything I said. It doesn't mean anything."

"No, I understand now."

"You don't! You can't understand!" Kaito snapped. He stood up and turned away from Miku quickly, trying to regain control over himself before he snapped at her again. Then he turned around and offered her his hand.

"Let's get back to the camp," he sighed. "They're waiting for us."

"Will Meiko be there?"

"I don't know."

Miku took one last look at the small fire before she took Kaito's hand and stood up. She kicked some dirt over the flames to douse it, then they both silently headed back to the camp.

**A/N Here are the translated lyrics for Miku's song :**

**Cremation Melody (Original sung by Miku Hatsune)**

_The fire and flame burning through the night_  
><em>Is such a horrible and tragic sight<em>  
><em>But with my small hands and burning inner light<em>  
><em>I will light the darkness with all my strength and might<em>

**Thanks for being patient with me!**


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